Photo radar catches over 81,000 in 3 months

One-fifth of speeding tickets issued by camera on Sheppard Avenue E.

Toronto photo radar cameras triggered more than 81,000 speeding tickets in the first three months of 2021 — one fifth of them at a single location, the Star has learned.

City data for the 50 “automated speed enforcement” devices across Toronto shows they resulted in a total of 81,557 tickets being issued in January, February and March.

Some 16,468 of the speeders — or 20 per cent of the total — were nabbed by the camera at Sheppard Avenue East, west of Don Mills Road.

A note with the data says that stretch of Sheppard “is a wide arterial roadway with six lanes of traffic and a significant downhill slope.”

That camera sees the highest traffic levels of any in the city. The speed limit there was dropped to 50 km/h in December 2019 to reduce speeding and minimize traffic-related fatalities.

Fines include a set amount based on the speed, a victim surcharge and applicable court costs.

Because the driver is not identified, speeders caught with photo radar do not receive demerit points.

All the cameras started nabbing speeders last July. In the fall they were moved to new streets, still two in each of the city’s 25 wards.

The move triggered a big jump in the number of tickets issued, from about 53,000 between July and October 2020 at the original streets to more than 87,000 at the new locations over a shorter period in 2021.

Mayor John Tory, who pushed the provincial government to grant the city power to install the cameras, has credited them with helping slow drivers and making streets safer, noting that the total number of tickets issued generally falls as drivers get used to a camera being at a particular location.

But not everyone gets the message.

Between January and March, 6,646 of the vehicles photographed speeding were dinged with more than one ticket. That’s about 8 per cent of the total.

In a statement with the data, Tory urges Toronto drivers to slow down, saying speeding continues to be one of the most dangerous traffic safety issues.

“Speed cameras are a proven traffic calming measure that we will continue to rotate across the city because we are committed to making our roads safer,” he said.

The cameras are now being moved to 50 new locations.